In a Field of Flowers
by lonesorceress2209
Summary: Anna and Mark are two orphan teens from our world who love the game FFVIII and are suddenly transported into the dangerous and epic journey that the characters face. Will they survive it? Read to find out.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I, sadly, do not own any of the Final Fantasy VIII characters or anything associated with them.

Chapter One:

Orphans and Video Games

She tip-toed quietly across the room and out the door, taking care not to wake anyone in the house on her way downstairs. It was an unusually dark night in the sleepy little town of Ellisville, Mississippi, caused by the menacing looking clouds that imprisoned the beams of the moon in their seemingly never-ending thickness. She stopped midway down the steps as she could have sworn she heard a noise above her, her breath catching in her throat as her imagination ran rapidly through all of the possible sources of the noise. She prayed that it was only one of the other orphans getting up to use the bathroom, and not one of the caretakers. If Mrs. Raney caught her out of bed after hours again, it would be like Hell on Earth. That woman had an impossible knack for knowing when one of her charges was out of bed. It was a knack that Anna, who had turned seventeen a month earlier, had learned to circumvent. Anna was extremely careful of how and when she would escape the confines of her shared and crowded bedroom, and sneak downstairs for a small amount of private time.

This private time was mainly spent playing Final Fantasy VIII, muted of course, so as not to wake anyone. The other charges had control of the television during the day, seeing as the older children either had work to do to keep the house in order or, in the case of Anna and her friend Mark, a job to go to everyday. Mark and Anna were the two oldest orphans still living in the house, as most kids moved out on their own at seventeen, and Mrs. Raney had already warned them both once that if she ever caught either of them out of bed after hours again, it would be the streets for them. _Oh, she is a cruel woman,_ Anna thought as she silently took up her sneaking down the stairs once more, being careful to skip the last step that creaked. She stuck her head around into the opening of the living room door and checked that no one was currently in the room who would tattle on her.

Anna expertly navigated around the furniture in the room and upon approaching the T.V., effortlessly found the power button, pressed it and watched the screen come to life while quickly pressing the volume down button. "You really like to push your luck with old Raney, don't you?" Anna jumped at the whispered words, thinking she had been caught by a tattler, but then her senses came back to her. _They wouldn't be whispering if they were going to tattle_, she thought, and turned around to find that it was Mark that had spoken. She grinned and replied, "You're one to talk. How did you know I was going to be here?"

"It was a good guess," he said. "You're always here at this time of night. I've been watching you play Final Fantasy VIII for a month now."

"A month?" she questioned. "How could I not have noticed you there for a month, and why haven't you come forward sooner."

"I didn't want to admit to anyone that I was getting interested in that game. It's not looked well upon by the "educators" at the college. And you and I both know that I'm prone to talk about anything I'm interested in."

"I knew it! I knew you liked the game. And you called it childish."

"O.K., it's not childish, but it's not exactly something an adult would appreciate either."

"Well that's because adults have lost their most important senses."

"And those are?"

Anna smiled and replied, "Their sense of imagination, love, and of course, their sense of humor. So, you wanna join me?"

Mark quietly chuckled, "Alright. Let's get started. You beat the game last night, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, how bout you let me play?"

_Oh, Hyne. He's hooked on it,_ she thought, then said, "Sure, but remember we have to be quiet. That means you can't get upset if you lose a battle."

"Oh, come on, McKenzie, you know I don't get upset bout stuff like that."

"Whatever, Latham. And don't you start calling me by my last name, too."

"Whatever."

_He is so like Squall._

She turned on the game console just as the rain that the weather man had promised began to fall. She sat quietly as the opening scene of Squall and Seifer's fight played before both their eyes. Lightning began to strike outside, illuminating the dark room they occupied. She knew the scene well, having watched it hundreds of times throughout her teenage years spent at the damned orphanage. She hated being an orphan, but it somehow allowed her to connect with the characters of the game and she was sure that that was how Mark felt. There was always something about the Orphanage Gang that just made them feel at home. Anna guessed it was the simple fact that they, too, did not know who their parents were. She was roused from her thoughts as a flash of lightning struck just outside the window just as the opening scene ended and turned to white.

Author's Note

Ok, guys. Let me know what you think. If you like it so far, I'll write more. If you don't like it, I'll still write more. LOL. Please Read & Review. This is my first fic, so be nice.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Where Are We?

The smell of grass filled her nostrils as she struggled to regain consciousness, and the rays of the sun warmed the skin on her arms and legs that had been previously chilled from the cool air that seemed to constantly blow from the air conditioning ducts throughout the orphanage in which she lived.

_That sunlight feels good on cold skin…Wait a minute! Sunlight!? It was raining just a minute ago. What the heck is going on? Where's Mark?_

She moved to get up, but found herself planted firmly on the ground by something heavy lying atop her legs and part of her lower body. Anna craned her neck around to see what had hindered her from achieving her goal of getting up off the ground and almost let loose a scream when she saw it was Mark.

"Oh my god! Mark! Mark, wake up!" She yelled this in earnestness praying to whatever gods there were to let him wake up. She began to struggle to get him off of her, yet her mission was futile. She could not reach around to push him off, and the dead weight was just too much to shake off. _Great, now I'm gonna be stuck here until someone just so happens to mosey along and rescue me._

It was not long after she thought this that a creature, which she recognized as a bite bug, swooped down upon her trying to cause her some harm. This time she did let loose a scream and to her surprise, the creature fell to the ground dead. _What the hell? There is no way I could have possibly killed that bite bug. Something's not right here...Oh, shit!_

Her thoughts became muddled when she looked beyond the dead creature, which looked uglier close up than on the screen at home, and saw what, or rather who, had killed it. _It can't be! I must be dreaming! There is just no way in Hell that this can be real!_ And with those thoughts, she fainted.

* * *

The next time she woke, the smell of grass and the gracious warmth of sunlight did not greet her. Instead, the all too clean smell of antiseptics, the comfort of a bed and warmth of a blanket were the first things she noticed. Slowly, her mind began to catch up with her waking body, and she sat bolt upright in the bed she had been occupying as her eyes darted open, and a sharp gasp escaped from her mouth.

Her eyes drank in the things around her. The white walls, the bed she currently sat in, the machines that surrounded the curtain "walls" that kept track of vital signs. She was in some kind of hospital, that much she knew, but where?

"Oh, you're awake. Good. Now, I'll discharge you after you answer a few questions for me," said the woman in a white coat, whom Anna took to be the doctor.

"Now, how many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three," Anna said_. Why does she look so familiar to me_?

"Good, now, what is your name? First, middle, and last, please."

"Anna Nicole McKenzie."

"Alright, then, only one more then you can go see the Headmaster."

"O.K., ask away."

"What on earth were you doing outside the Garden walls without a weapon?"

"Huh?!" Anna was confused_. Garden? Then that must mean that this is Dr. Kadowaki and that means that I'm...I'm...Oh hell no!! It's not possible_! "Doctor, where am I?"

"I asked her the same question," a voice said to the left of the doctor.

"Mark! You're okay!"

"Yeah, what would make you think I wasn't?"

Anna jumped out of the bed and ran toward him. She grabbed hold of him and hugged him as if she would never let him go again.

"Umm...Anna...I can't...breathe," he choked out.

She blushed crimson, "Oh, yeah...hehe...sorry."

"It's okay. Look, Dr. Kadowaki. I've already been to see Headmaster Cid and he says there is no need for Anna to have to come too. I've already explained everything to him."

"Very well, Mr. Latham, but I don't ever want to have to see you two in here again for going off without weapons. It was a stupid thing to do. Hmpf!" She said as she stalked off to her office. "Oh and ,Miss McKenzie, you're free to go."

"Thank you, doctor, for your care." Anna then turned to Mark, "Where are we?"

"I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet. We're in Balamb Garden."

"That's impossible, Mark. We were only just sitting in the living room playing Final Fantasy VIII. How in the hell can we be at Balamb Garden?"

"Well apparently Zell Dincht spotted us lying on the ground and when he saw the bite bug hovering over us and heard you scream, he killed it and he and Quistis brought us back to Garden."

_Holy crap! So it was Zell I saw! I must be dreaming_! She pinched herself, and pain shot through the place she had inflicted the pain on_. Nope, not dreaming. Damn that hurt_.

"Umm...Mark?"

"Hmm?"

"How did we get here?"

Mark thought for a moment before replying, "I honestly don't know."

_Oh, great. We don't know how we got here, so how do we figure out how to get back?_


	3. Chapter 3

Thirty Minutes Later

Mark stood up suddenly and began pacing. Anna allowed him to do this, knowing that this action meant he was thinking deeply. It wasn't long before he stopped and faced her again.

"Obviously we somehow got transported into the world of Final Fantasy VIII," he said. "How that happened remains a mystery, but the only thing we can do is let things take their course and see if we can help these people in any way."

Anna looked up at him incredulously from where she was sitting on the edge of a fountain. "Mark, we can't just do this. We know what happens in the game and neither of us has the training that these people do. We've never fought a day in our lives."

"I know that, Anna, but I also know how to use a katana. You remember all those days I stayed after school for remedial studies?"

Anna nodded her head, mystified as to where he learned to wield a katana. "Well the truth is that I was actually staying for a weapons training. It started out as a fencing class, and then when I excelled at that, the teacher asked me if I would like to train with a katana. So I'm pretty proficient at it."

"But where are you going to get one and what about me? I don't know how to use any kind of weapon, Mark. I'd be a sitting duck in a battle. Besides there is the SeeD exams to think about and how to convince Cid to let us take them."

"Convincing Cid won't be a problem. Leave that to me. You know every theory about all the weapons of this game right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"Well, you once told me that as long as you knew the theory behind something, then you could do it."

"I was talking about Chemistry, Mark, not weaponry. It's completely different."

"Not really. Besides I have faith in you." Then, seeing her disbelieving face he added, "It's worth a shot, and we have to find a way of getting back to our world and how are we going to do that by ourselves? We are going to need help."

Sensing that she had lost that argument, Anna finally gave in. Mark smiled broadly and said, "Alright, let's go have a chat with the headmaster, shall we?" And with that, they both headed to the elevator that they knew would take them to Cid's office.

Two Hours Later

Cid Kramer sat in his chair behind his wooden desk and stared at the two teens before him. Their story had not shocked him in the least. He knew who they were and why they were here. He also knew he needed to get them trained and fast. Part of that had already been accomplished through the game that had been created in their world, although Cid explained none of these things to them. Telling them the things he knew would only bring about a terrible end to their lives, and he couldn't have that. They were the only hope for this world. At least, that's what Diablos told him before the Guardian Force brought them here.

"You don't look surprised to hear our story, Headmaster. I mean it's enough to turn anyone's head, including our own."

Cid was brought out of his reverie by Anna's statement. "The truth is, Miss McKenzie, I knew you two were coming." Upon seeing their shocked expressions, he added, "I won't go into too much detail as to why you were brought here, but I can tell you how you came to be in this world."

"Please, sir," Mark said, "We would very much like to know how that happened."

"The GFs have long been able to see into the future and have seen some disturbing events that, unless and intervention arises, will destroy all humanity in this world. You of course know to what I am referring, and to who causes them."

"Ultemecia," the two answered in unison. Cid merely nodded and continued his explanation.

"The GFs, not wanting the future to leak out here gave some gamemakers the idea for a video game to coincide with these futuristic events to train two hopeful people in your world to assist us. Now there are deeper reasons as to why it was the two of you that were chosen, but I cannot go into that at the moment. I promise, though, that all will be revealed in due time."

"Sir, I don't mean to interrupt, but what about the other Final Fantasy games that we have played? Are those real as well?" Anna couldn't help but ask.

Cid nodded, "The ones that occurred before this one is the history of this planet and the ones that occur after are the future, so you no doubt know what becomes of the planet after we are long gone. But we will have to discuss that later. Now, your stories will be that you are transfers from Galbadia Garden and are to take the SeeD exam in one week's time. Do not let it be known that you are from another world. If Ultemecia were to find out that other worlds existed, she would strive to conquer all of them. Now let me call your roommates to show you to your dormitories and to the weapon's master." He pressed a button on his desk and asked Xu to call their roommates up to his office.

"Sir," Mark began, "Are the events that are going to occur going to go exactly like they did in the game?"

"Not exactly. You see, some will change and others will stay the same. Then again, some may not occur at all. It will all depend upon what new events occur now that you two are here."

At that moment, Xu entered the office followed by none other than Squall and Selphie. Anna's eyes grew large at the sight of the two people who had just entered. She couldn't help but stare at the stoic Squall, and it wasn't long after she had started staring that his gaze met her own. Stony grey met bright violet and she blushed crimson as she realized that he knew she was staring and hid her face behind her black, wavy locks of hair. Cid filled the two in on the situation and Anna only half listened. She was more interested in her thoughts about actually being in the Final Fantasy VIII world, and that is why it came as quite a shock when she was pulled from them by Selphie pulling her up from her seat chattering the whole time about how it was awesome that they would be roommates and that she couldn't wait to see what kind of weapon that Anna would choose. This one-way conversation continued all the way to the dormitories, allowing Anna to sink back into her thoughts.

She hadn't even noticed that they had reached their dorm room, or that Squall and Mark's dorm was right next to their own. She just kept thinking about how intense Squall's gaze had been. It was like the thought refused to leave her mind.

"You know, when the headmaster had sent all those clothes to our dorm, I didn't know what to think at first. Then I found out, or more like forced out the information, from Squall that we were both getting roommates. I was so stoked!" Selphie said and snapped Anna from her thoughts again. It was then that she took in her surroundings and Selphie's appearance. The spunky girl was not sporting her usual sun yellow dress and brown boots, but rather blue jean shorts, a black tank top and black combat boots. Selphie then looked ashamed suddenly and stated, "I'm sorry. Here I am chatting away about nonsense and you probably just want to get settled in."

"It's alright, Selph. I just really want a shower right now. How about you help me come pick a weapon after I get cleaned up and changed?"

The hyper brunette brightened back up after that and showed her where the shower was. "I'll be back in a bit, Anna. I'm gonna go get you some food. You have got to be starving."

"Thanks, Selph, I appreciate that."

"No prob." And with that, the girl left Anna to her own devices.


	4. Chapter 4

After her shower, Anna met up with Selphie at the cafeteria to grab a bite to eat before going to the Weapons Master's office to choose a weapon. It was there that they ran into Mark and Squall, and it seemed that Mark was testing out a katana against Squall's gunblade, which turned out to not be a good idea as Mark was taking a beating from Squall, but then he surprised them all and executed an outstanding move that threw Squall off balance, making him lose his concentration for a split second as an expression of shock crossed his face. It disappeared almost as soon as it happened and was replaced by a dark, dangerous look that made him seem dangerously handsome to Anna all of a sudden.

She had never seen anyone move as fast as he was at that moment. Every slice with his blade was perfectly executed, every jab equally as strong as the one before. He was perfection. Anna felt her mind slipping into thoughts that she knew better than thinking, but she couldn't help it. She wondered if he would be as perfect behind closed doors. Her daydream reached the point where she just shut and locked the door to his dorm room, leaving only Squall and herself in the dim lighting. It seemed so real to her that she thought she smelled the musky sweet scent of his cologne, and hear the husky sound of his breath. Then she heard the snapping of fingers and reluctantly came out of her dream to find a very agitated Selphie snapping her fingers in front of her face. Squall was in fact standing close enough to her that she could smell his cologne and hear his labored breathing from his rigorous exercise.

"Oh, sorry guys. I kinda spaced out for a minute there."

Selphie smiled and replied, "That's okay, Anna! I just wasn't sure what you were saying. Something about a great evil that will attempt to take over the world unless the lion and his pack rises to defend their home and time, or was it with the help of his friends the lion will defeat the witch and restore peace to the earth? I dunno, anyway it was something creepy like that."

"It was quite strange, Anna," Squall said. "If I remember correctly, I read somewhere that some people have a high ESP level and possess the ability of foresight. It almost seems that you have this ability. Do you remember anything that happened?"

"No, the last thing I remember was watching you and Mark spar and then I started having a daydream, but it didn't include anything about a great evil or a lion or a witch or anything like that. It was just a normal daydream."

"I'd like to talk to the headmaster about this if you don't mind, Anna."

"I don't, but you aren't going right now are you?"

"I had thought about it," Squall said, tilting his head slightly, making him look like a confused puppy.

"Well you can't go without me, and I would like to get a new weapon before anything else happens and test it out."

"Okay, I can hang around for a bit."

They walked up to the Weapons Master's office, but the others stopped at the door. "You have to go in alone, honey." Selphie gave her the thumbs up as she spoke. Anna turned back to the door and opened it. Her first impression was of a saloon in an old western movie. The room was filled with cigar smoke and everything in the room was made of polished wood. The air stunk with the heavy fragrances of stale cigar smoke and whiskey. "Hello," Anna called, "Is anyone here?"

"Ah, hello there little lady. What can old Jack do for ya?" The man who had spoken came from a back room and stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Anna. "Well, I never thought the day would come that I would see you in my shop, Anna."

"How do you know my name?"

"I have the same gifts you do. I can see future events and I saw one fifteen years ago that said you would come here for guidance, and you would find more than just guidance."

"That's odd cuz I just had a premonition myself according to my friends, but all I experienced was a daydream that had nothing to do with what they heard."

"Those daydreams show more than you think, darlin'. Why don't you tell me about it." She did, and as she talked, she watched his expressions to see what he thought of her dream.

"It seems to me that you will have to interpret this dream as you complete your impending quest," he said, but before she could ask any questions he continued, "Now, before you take a step out of here, we need to get you a weapon, and I have just the thing." Jack returned to the back of his storeroom and came back a few minutes later with a beautifully decorated black case. Inside the case was a gunblade. It was the most stunning thing Anna had ever seen. A lioness was carved into the blade, and flames strung out behind it as though the lioness was leaving a path of fire behind her.

"It's beautiful."

"Her name is Kilgria. Began making her fifteen years ago, after the vision of you, and just finished two weeks ago."

Anna smiled, thanked Jack, and left the office.


End file.
